Door lock operating mechanism



Patented May 24, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE N AXEL WASBER-G, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR IO CAMEL COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS DOOR LOCK OPERATING MECHANISM Application filed November 1, 1930. Serial No. 492,797.

This invention relates to operating mechanism for locking devices, and more specifically to those looking devices comprising a swinging locking bar applied to car doors.

Swinging doors employed on car sides and car ends are now being equipped with devices for locking said doors to the car embodying swinging locking bars. These bars particularly those utilized with end doors, are quite heavy and it is not uncommon for trainmen to use a sledge to force said bars into full locking position or to impart an initial force tending to move the bars to unlocking position. Such a mode of operation of the looking bars obviously is unsatisfactory and results in damage and consequent necessity of replacement of the locking devices.

A further difficulty encountered with locking devices employing a swinging locking bar lies in the absence of any provision for maintaining the swinging bar in its inoperative position. As a result of this fact, the swinging bar will assume its normal vertical position as soon as the door which carries said bar is opened. In closing the doors trainmen will negligently forget to swing the bar to its inoperative position and, consequently, the bar will strike keepers of the locking device with such impact as to cause damage to said keepers, the bars, or both.

It is an object of this invention to provide operating mechanism simple in construction and operation and applicable to locking de vices embodying swinging locking bars for effecting unlocking and locking movements of such bars.

A further object of the invention is the provision oi? operating mechanism applicable directly to the door, on which the locking bar is mounted and capable of direct connection with said bar.

Another object of the invention is the provision of operating mechanism for effecting movement of a swinging locking bar for a door and for maintaining said bar in its inoperative position during the closing movement of said door.

Other objects, as well as advantages of the invention, will become apparent as the specification proceeds the invention being illus trated in the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification.

In said drawings- Figure 1 is an elevation illustrating the op erating mechanism of the invention applied to a swinging locking bar, shown in connection with swinging doors on a car end.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary elevation illustrating the mode of operation of the operating mechanism.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2, showing a modified construction.

The operating mechanism of the invention is illustrated in the two embodiments of the invention shown applied to a swinging locking bar 10 pivotally supported upon one of a pair of overlapping swinging end doors 11 and 12. It is apparent that the operating mechanism may as readily be applied to a single swinging door and to swinging doors which may be utilized on the sides as well as on the ends of a car. The locking mechanism illustrated is well known. It comprises, in addition to the swinging locking bar 10, a pair of keepers 13 and 14, mounted on the end plate and end sill, respectively. These keepers are adapted to receive castings 15 and 16 rigidly secured to the upper and lower ends of the locking bar, respectively, when said locking bar is in its operative position. The bar is supported for swinging movement upon the casting 17 carried by the overlapping door 11. The doors 11 and 12 are hingedly mounted upon the car by means of a plurality of hinges 18. Additional latching means 19 are utilized upon the lower marginal portions of the doors.

In order to impart an initial force tending to move the locking bar 10 from its operative position in engagement with the keepers 13 and 14: as'shown in Figure 1, an operating mechanism is illustrated coacting with the lower portion of the swinging bar. This operating mechanism comprises a bell crank lever 20 pivotally supported upon the door 11 by means of a bracket 21. One end of this lever has pivotally secured to it a link 22, the other end of which has pivotal engagement with the swinging locking bar. The operation and functions of the operating mechanism will become apparent from a casual inspection of Figure 2 of the drawings. In this figure the operative position of the locking bar is indicated in full lines and its inoperative position, together with the corresponding position of the operating mechanism is indicated in dot and dash lines. Starting with the locking bar in its operative position it is necessary, in order to force said bar into its inoperative position when it is inclined to its original position, to release the pin 23 and to move the lever 20 forwardly so that it may be swung in a vertical plane. The construction of the supporting bracket 21 is such as to permit slight forward movement of the lever 20 in order to clear the latching mechanism 24, of which the pin 23 is an integral part. The latching mechanism illustrated is merely conventional and it is to be understood that any form of latching means for the operating lever 20 may be utilized. As the lever 20 is swung upwardly a force is exerted upon the lower end of the swinging bar, tending to swing it into inclined inoperative position, that is, the position shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 2 of the drawings. The lever 20 is swung upwardly or in clock-wise rotation until the end thereof abuts against the web of the swinging locking bar which, in the present embodiment, is illustrated as an H section. It will become apparent that contact between the end of the lever and the locking bar 10 will insure, because of the inclined position assumed by the link 22, that the locking bar will remain in its inclined inoperative position until such time as the lever 20 is disengaged from contact with said bar. It is evident, therefore, that without further attention by the operator the locking bar will remain in its inclined position and that all the danger of impact between the castings on said locking bar and the keepers is avoided. It is also apparent that the degree of angular displacement of the locking bar from its vertical position is stops for the swing movement of the locking bar. with.

Another embodiment ofthe invention is illustrated in Figure 3 of the drawings. It may be found desirable in some instances that the operating lever 20 be so positioned when the locking bar 10 is in its inclined position that said lever 20 be out of engagement with the locking bar. Such a result is effected by means of the structure and arrangement of the parts of the operating mechanism shown in Figure 3. There is applied adjacent the end of the lever 20 to which the link 22 is secured, a lug 25. In the inclined inoperative position of the bar 10 the op- These castings may now be dispensed crating lever 20 will have moved from the full line position to that shown in dot and dash lines. During such movement the lug 25, which originally was positioned above the pivotal attachment of the lever to the casting 21, rotates in clock-wise direction until it establishes contact with said casting. It is evident that, due to this contact between the lug 25 on the lever 20 and the casting 21, the locking bar 10 will be maintained in its inclined position.

Numerous changes in the details and arrangements of the parts shown in the two embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit thereof. Itis inten'dedthat all such changes and arrangements, falling within the scope of the claims appended hereto, are included within the invention.

I claim:

1. The combination, with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for swinging said bar to inoperative position to permit opening of the door, said means comprising a lever pivot-ed intermediate its ends to said door and a link pivoted to said lever and said bar, said means automatically maintaining said bar in inoperative position at a predetermined point in the swinging movement of said bar.

2. The combination, with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said door and a link pivoted to said lever and said bar, the pivotal connection'between said link and said lever in the inoperative inclined position of said bar being included in a plane lying between said bar and the pivotal connection of said lever and the door and below said connection.

3. The combination, with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said door and a link pivoted to said lever and said bar, said bar in its inoperative position being inclined and the free end of said lever having abutting engagement with said bar.

4:. The combination, with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever pivoted intermediate its ends to said door and a link pivoted to said lever and said bar, the pivotal connection between said link and said lever in the inoperative inclined position of said bar being included in a plane lying between said bar and the pivotal connection'of said lever and the door and below said connection, said bar in its inoperative position being inclined and the free end of said lever having abutting engagement with said bar.

5. The combination, with a swinging bar and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever, a bracket secured to said door and pivotally supporting said lever intermediate its ends and a link pivotally connected to said lever and said bar, said lever being provided with means adapted for engagement with said bracket when said bar is in inoperative position, whereby to maintain said position of the bar.

6. The combination, with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted for swinging movement to said door, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever, a bracket secured to said door and pivotally supporting said lever intermediate its ends, and a link pivotally connected to said level and said bar, said lever being provided with a laterally extending projection adapted for engagement With said bracket when said bar is in inoperative position, whereby to maintain said position of the bar.

7. The combination with a swinging door and a locking bar pivoted to said door for swinging movement, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever pivoted to said door and a link pivotally connected to said bar and said lever, said means being adapted to swing said bar from its substantially vertical operative position to an inclined inoperative position, and means effective to prevent movement of said bar toward its vertical position at a predetermined inclined position of the bar.

8. The combination with aswinging door and a locking bar pivoted to said door for swinging movement, of means for operating said bar, said means comprising a lever pivoted to said door and a link pivotally connected to said bar and said lever, said means being adapted to swing said bar from its substantially vertical operative position to an inclined inoperative position, the potential energy of said bar in the inclined position thereof being exerted through said link upon said lever to maintain the bar in said inclined position.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature at Chicago, Illinois, this 22nd day of October, 1930.

AXEL WASBERG. 

